Paid promotion fuelling reports of surge in missing girls, says Delhi Police

In a statement, the police said they had tracked the origin of the viral claims and found that the narrative around a sharp rise in missing girls was being amplified through sponsored posts.

"After following a few leads, we discovered that the hype around the surge in missing girls in Delhi is being pushed through paid promotion. Creating panic for monetary gains won't be tolerated, and we'll take strict action against such individuals," Delhi Police said in a post on X.

The clarification came after media reports, citing Delhi Police data, reported that 807 people went missing in the city between January 1 and January 15, 2026, averaging about 54 cases a day. Of these, 509 were women and girls and 298 were men. The data also stated that 191 of the missing persons were minors, while 616 were adults.